The present invention relates to riveting presses and analogous machines in general, and more particularly to improvements in machines of the type wherein one-piece or multi-piece rivets, clamps, hooks, eyelets, buttons or like articles of hardware are to be affixed to selected portions of workpieces, such as textile materials which are being converted into jackets, jeans and other types of garments. For the sake of simplicity, the following description will refer primarily to riveting presses of the type wherein two components of a hollow rivet or an analogous or similar article of hardware are assembled by being pressed or otherwise forcibly moved toward, against or into each other.
In many presently known riveting presses, the making of a rivet is effected by depressing a foot pedal which starts a motor serving to move a first tool toward a second tool and/or vice versa. Prior to depressing the pedal, the person in charge of operating the press must carefully place a selected portion of a textile or other workpiece into a predetermined position for the application of a rivet thereto, e.g., by ensuring that the selected portion of the workpiece is located between a stationary lower riveting tool and a mobile upper riveting tool which latter, for the purpose of permitting a shifting of the workpiece, is normally held in a raised or retracted position. Such riveting presses are further provided with suitable gauges and stops in order to facilitate the work of the attendant in properly positioning a selected portion or successive selected portions of the workpiece relative to the tools. Nevertheless, the attendant must exercise great care prior to each depression of the pedal in order to ensure that a selected portion of the workpiece is in fact located in an optimum position for the application of a rivet thereto. Frist of all, such mode of operating the press consumes much time and the output of the press is overly dependent upon the carefulness and conscientiousness of the operator. Secondly, the work is fatiguing and the likelihood of application of rivets in other than optimum positions increases as the day progresses. Furthermore, manual positioning of the workpiece in the above outlined manner simply cannot be performed with a degree of precision which is often expected from discriminating purchasers of certain types of garments. Last but not least, the operation of such types of presses requires a relatively long interval of training which also contributes to higher cost of the ultimate products.